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This report highlights developments related to the tokenization and on-chain adoption of Real-World Assets (RWAs). Our report includes details on centralized industry players and asset class coverage, as well as coverage of select decentralized finance protocols working to integrate RWAs on-chain. Information is compiled from Digital Asset Research’s (DAR’s) data sources, public sources, media reports, and press releases, and, while wide-ranging, this report covers only representative initiatives related to the development and tokenization of RWAs in the digital asset space.
For a PDF version of this report, please click here.
Introduction
While many cryptocurrencies offer solutions to the challenges encountered by Web3 users, only a few digital assets possess characteristics that connect them to real-world economic activities. Skeptics contend that cryptocurrency use cases are confined to the digital realm, and therefore the value of crypto assets is not sustainable, given that much of daily life revolves around the physical world.
Real-world asset tokenization bridges this gap between the physical and digital worlds. Real-World Assets (RWAs) are assets that exist tangibly offline, such as real estate or equities. Tokenization refers to the process of generating a digital certificate that is impervious to alteration or replication to represent an RWA on a blockchain. These digital certificates are backed by real-world assets as collateral.
Through tokenization, investors can gain access to conventional investment opportunities in a more trustless and efficient manner via blockchain technology. Settlement can be conducted in real time and investors are always able to see where their assets are stored on chain. The spectrum of assets that could be tokenized includes but is not confined to, real estate, private credit, securities, commodities, and fiat currencies. A significant proportion of the world’s financial value is ascribed to RWAs, thereby presenting the potential for RWA tokens to access a total addressable market equivalent to the largest financial markets.
In this report, entities working on RWA initiatives are classified into two groups:
- Centralized organizations that offer tokenization services are detailed in the CeFi RWA sections.
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols that integrate RWAs with on-chain market participants are detailed in the DeFi RWA sections.
Significant RWA Tokenization News
- Ondo Finance launched USD Yield (USDY), which is a tokenized note secured by U.S. Treasuries and bank notes that offered a 5% APY at launch.
- Clearpool, a DeFi lending protocol, now supports transactions on Polygon’s zkEVM scaling solution.
- Maple Finance, a DeFi lending protocol, raised $5 million in funding from venture capital firms, including GSR Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Veris Ventures, and The Spartan Group.
- Backed Finance, a DeFi project, integrated Chainlink’s price feeds and tokenized multiple assets, including Coinbase’s COIN stock, an S&P 500 index fund, and several bond offerings, across six blockchains.
- Solana co-founder Raj Gokal expressed optimism about the future of real world asset tokenization in an interview, saying “Real-world asset tokenization indeed presents tremendous opportunities…”
CeFi RWA Industry Players
The table below provides details on a selection of 49 centralized tokenization service providers.
| Entity | Website | Founded | Jurisdiction | In-House Blockchain | Tokenized Asset Marketplace | Fractionalization of Assets | Self-Custody | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10XTS | https://10xts.com/ | 2017 | United States | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | $2,400,000 |
| ADDX | https://addx.co/en/index.html | 2017 | Singapore | No | Yes | Yes | No | $140,900,000 |
| Aktionariat | https://www.aktionariat.com/ | 2020 | Switzerland | No | Yes | No | No | $1,500,000 |
| AllianceBlock* | https://allianceblock.io/ | 2018 | Netherlands | No | Yes | No | Yes | $1,500,000 |
| Alphaledger* | https://www.alphaledger.com/ | 2019 | United States | No | Yes | No | No | $7,500,000 |
| AlphaPoint | https://alphapoint.com/ | 2013 | United States | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | $23,200,000 |
| Arca US Treasury Fund | https://invest.arcalabs.com/#/log in?redirect=/home | 2020 | United States | No | No | Yes | No | Unknown |
| Archax | https://www.archax.com/ | 2018 | United Kingdom | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $41,600,000 |
| Arf | https://arf.one/ | 2019 | Switzerland | No | No | No | No | $14,100,000 |
| Bankex | https://bankex.com/ | 2015 | United States | No | No | Yes | Yes | $70,600,000 |
| Bondblox* | https://bondblox.com/ | 2016 | Singapore | No | Yes | Yes | No | $6,000,000 |
| Brickken | https://www.brickken.com/ | 2020 | Spain | No | Yes | Yes | No | $2,700,000 |
| Canton Network | https://www.canton.network/ | 2023 | United States | Yes | No | No | No | Unknown |
| Cerchia | https://www.cerchia.io/ | 2020 | Switzerland | No | Yes | No | No | $2,700,000 |
| Enigma Vault | https://www.enigmavault.io/ | 2020 | United States | No | No | No | Yes | Unknown |
| Ekta | https://ektarealestate.app/ | 2021 | Indonesia | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | $67,100,000 |
| Fnality International | https://www.fnality.org/home | 2019 | United Kingdom | No | No | No | No | $62,000,000 |
| Franklin Templeton | https://www.franklintempleton.c om/investments/options/money- market-funds/products/29386/SI | 1947 | United States | No | No | Yes | No | N/A |
| HoneyBricks | https://www.honeybricks.com/ | 2020 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| HouseAfrica | https://houseafrica.io/ | 2017 | Nigeria | No | Yes | Yes | No | $525,000 |
| INX Digital | https://www.inx.co/ | 2017 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $96,500,000 |
| InvestaX | https://investax.io/ | 2015 | Singapore | No | No | Yes | Yes | $150,000 |
| Jia | https://www.jia.xyz/ | 2022 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $4,300,000 |
| Lofty | https://www.lofty.ai/ | 2018 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $5,000,000 |
| NYALA* | https://www.nyala.de/en/ | 2019 | Germany | No | Yes | Yes | No | Unknown |
| Ownera | https://ownera.io/ | 2018 | United Kingdom | Yes | No | Yes | No | $20,000,000 |
| Paxos | https://paxos.com/ | 2012 | United States | No | Yes | No | Yes | $543,500,000 |
| Polymath | https://polymath.network/ | 2017 | Barbados | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | $58,700,000 |
| Pontoro | https://www.pontoro.com/ | 2015 | United States | No | No | Yes | No | $10,000,000 |
| RealT | https://realt.co/ | 2019 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $10,200,000 |
| RealX | https://www.realx.in/about-us | 2017 | India | No | No | Yes | No | Unknown |
| Riddle&Code | https://www.riddleandcode.com/ | 2016 | Austria | Yes | No | No | Yes | Unknown |
| Robinland | https://www.robinland.io/ | 2021 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $2,000,000 |
| SEBA Bank | https://www.seba.swiss/ | 2018 | Switzerland | No | Yes | No | Yes | $246,900,000 |
| Securitize | https://securitize.io/ | 2017 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $100,200,000 |
| Securrency | https://securrency.com/ | 2015 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $64,500,000 |
| Smart Token Labs* | https://smarttokenlabs.com/ | 2017 | Australia | No | No | No | Yes | $6,000,000 |
| Spydra | https://www.spydra.app/ | 2021 | United States | Yes | No | No | No | $18,300,000 |
| Stobox | https://stobox.io/ | 2018 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $1,200,000 |
| STOKR | https://stokr.io/ | 2018 | Luxembourg | No | Yes | Yes | No | $8,100,000 |
| Structure | https://structure.fi/ | 2020 | British Virgin Islands | No | Yes | No | No | Unknown |
| Taurus Platform | https://www.taurushq.com/ | 2018 | Geneva | No | Yes | No | Yes | $75,900,000 |
| Texture Capital | https://www.texture.capital/ | 2019 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $1,000,000 |
| Tokeny Solutions | https://tokeny.com/ | 2017 | Luxembourg | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $5,660,000 |
| TOKO | https://toko.network/ | 2022 | Hong Kong | No | No | Yes | No | Unknown |
| tZERO | https://www.tzero.com/ | 2014 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $275,000,000 |
| Vertalo | https://www.vertalo.com/ | 2017 | United States | No | No | Yes | No | $7,800,000 |
| WeOwn | https://weown.com/en/ | 2017 | Liechtenstein | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| WisdomTree | https://www.wisdomtree.com/in vestments/digital-funds | 1985 | United States | No | Yes | Yes | No | $126,400,000 |
*Newly added to the report
Key Takeaways
- 24 of the listed organizations are registered in the United States, followed by Switzerland with 4 projects, and Singapore and the United Kingdom with 3 projects each.
- Five new projects are added for this month’s report:
- AllianceBlock is a Netherlands-based tokenization platform specializing in capital markets.
- AlphaLedger focuses on tokenizing municipal bonds.
- Bondblox allows for trading of fractionalized government bonds on the blockchain.
- NYALA is based in Germany and provides services for real estate and bonds tokenization.
- Smart Token Labs is an Australia-based tokenization provider that has previously successfully tokenized car ownership and FIFA tickets.
- Only 10 organizations utilize an in-house blockchain network.
- 32 of the organizations have their own tokenized asset marketplace.
- 34 of the organizations support the fractionalization of real-world assets.
CeFi RWA Asset Classes
The table below displays the types of underlying assets tokenized by the selected protocols.
| Entity | Real Estate | Equities | Commodities | Fixed Income | Private Credit | Forex | Other (Art, Luxury, etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10XTS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| ADDX | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Aktionariat | ✔ | ||||||
| AllianceBlock* | ✔ | ||||||
| Alphaledger* | ✔ | ||||||
| AlphaPoint | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Arca US Treasury Fund | ✔ | ||||||
| Archax | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Arf | ✔ | ||||||
| Avalanche Vista | |||||||
| Bankex | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Bondblox* | ✔ | ||||||
| Brickken | ✔ | ||||||
| Canton Network | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Cerchia | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Enigma Vault | ✔ | ||||||
| Ekta | ✔ | ||||||
| Fnality International | ✔ | ||||||
| Franklin Templeton | ✔ | ||||||
| HoneyBricks | ✔ | ||||||
| HouseAfrica | ✔ | ||||||
| INX Digital | ✔ | ||||||
| InvestaX | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Jia | ✔ | ||||||
| Lofty | ✔ | ||||||
| NYALA* | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Ownera | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Paxos | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Polymath | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Pontoro | ✔ | ||||||
| RealT | ✔ | ||||||
| RealX | ✔ | ||||||
| Riddle & Code | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Robinland | ✔ | ||||||
| SEBA Bank | ✔ | ||||||
| Securitize | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Securrency | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Smart Token Labs* | ✔ | ||||||
| Spydra | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Stobox | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| STOKR | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Structure | ✔ | ||||||
| Taurus Platform | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Texture Capital | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Tokeny Solutions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| TOKO | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| tZERO | ✔ | ||||||
| Vertalo | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| WeOwn | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| WisdomTree | ✔ | ✔ |
*Newly added to the report
Key Takeaways
- The most common tokenized asset types are equities (24) and real estate (23).
- Tokenization of private credit and luxury goods are almost as popular, with 16 and 12 platforms, respectively, providing these services.
- Tokenization of foreign exchange and commodities based-assets are least popular among CeFi RWA providers.
DeFi RWA Industry Players
The table provides details on a selection of 37 on-chain tokenization providers. Unlike their CeFi counterparts, DeFi RWA providers are generally more permissionless, with a majority of operations conducted on the blockchain.
| Entity | Blockchain(s) | Sector | Asset Class(es) | Founding Year | Geography/Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmFi | Avalanche | Credit | Credit & Loans, Real Estate | 2022 | United States |
| Alta* | Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism | Tokenization | Real Estate, Automotive | 2020 | United States |
| Anzen* | Unconfirmed | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2022 | United States |
| Backed Finance | Ethereum, Gnosis | Tokenization | Credit & Loans, Equities | 2021 | Switzerland |
| Bitbond | Arbitrum, Avalanche, Binance, Ethereum, Optimism | Tokenization | Fixed Income | 2013 | Germany |
| Bluejay Finance | Ethereum | Stablecoin Credit | Fixed Income | 2021 | Singapore |
| Canza Finance | Avalanche, Celo | Stablecoin Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | Nigeria |
| Carapace Finance | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2021 | Unknown |
| Centrifuge | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans, Real Estate | 2017 | Switzerland |
| CitaDAO | Ethereum | Tokenization | Real Estate | 2021 | Singapore |
| Clearpool | Ethereum, Polygon | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2021 | Hong Kong |
| CredeFi | Ethereum, Binance | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | Bulgaria |
| Credix | Solana | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2021 | Belgium |
| Dexstar | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2021 | Cayman Islands |
| DEFYCA | Avalanche | Tokenization | Credit & Loans, Fiat | 2021 | Luxembourg |
| Elysia* | Ethereum | Tokenization | Real Estate | 2020 | Singapore |
| Ensuro | Ethereum | Insurance | Insurance Portfolio | 2021 | Singapore |
| Fabrica | Ethereum | Derivatives | Real Estate | 2019 | United States |
| Florence Finance | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | – | United Arab Emirates |
| Frigg | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2022 | Switzerland |
| Goldfinch | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | United States |
| Homecoin | Ethereum | Stablecoin | Mortgages | – | Unknown |
| LandX | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | – | Lithuania |
| Maker | Ethereum | Stablecoin Credit | Credit & Loans, Cryptocurrencies | 2015 | Denmark |
| Maple | Ethereum, Solana | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | Australia |
| Maxos | Ethereum | Stablecoin Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | United States |
| Meld Gold | Algorand | Commodities | Gold | 2020 | Australia |
| Obligate | Polygon | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2019 | Switzerland |
| Ondo Finance | Ethereum | Tokenization | Credit & Loans | 2021 | United States |
| Parcl | Solana | Derivatives | Real Estate | 2022 | British Virgin Islands |
| Pearl Exchange* | Polygon | Infrastructure | Stablecoins | 2023 | Unknown |
| Polytrade Finance | Polygon | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2021 | United Arab Emirates |
| PurpleFi | – | Tokenization | Real Estate | 2022 | United Kingdom |
| Sapling | Polygon | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2022 | United Kingdom |
| Tangible | Polygon | Stablecoin | Luxury Goods, Precious Metals, Real Estate | 2021 | United States |
| Toucan Protocol | Polygon, Celo | Tokenization | Carbon Credit | 2021 | Switzerland |
| TrueFi | Ethereum | Credit | Credit & Loans | 2020 | United States |
*Newly added to the report
Key Takeaways
- Four new protocols were added to our list of decentralized providers:
- Alta provides tokenization services for a diverse set of assets including real estate and automobiles.
- Anzen allows users access to yield from short-term debt investments, such as corporate loans and installment lending.
- Elysia is a real estate tokenization platform based in Singapore.
- Pearl Exchange is a decentralized exchange that facilitates trading of real world asset tokens.
- As of the end of August 2023, Credit & Loans is the most common sector for DeFi tokenization products with a total of 23 platforms supporting real-world loans.
- Ethereum is the most common blockchain among RWA DeFi applications, with 24 out of 36 platforms being run on the blockchain.
- A smaller portion of the RWA DeFi applications run on the Polygon, Solana, Avalanche, Celo, BNB Smart Chain, and Gnosis Chain blockchains.
DeFi RWA Protocols
The following table provides details on DeFi protocols that integrate real-world assets. These range from on-chain emerging markets lenders to protocols providing on-chain market participants with access to US Treasury Bills.
| Protocol | Network | Active Loans | Total Lifetime Loans | Total Value Locked (TVL) | Market Capitalization of Protocol’s Native Token | Month over Month Change in Market Capitalization (%) of Protocol’s Native Token |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centrifuge | Ethereum | $238,153,802 | $440,571,955 | $236,981,768 | $92,896,546 | –14.42% |
| Maple | Ethereum | $129,728,402 | $2,140,076,800 | $54,500,000 | $35,263,2811 | –25.94% |
| Goldfinch | Ethereum | $99,470,0007 | $112,989,773 | $1,140,000 | $19,656,820 | –12.41% |
| Credix | Solana | $35,537,576 | $40,520,152 | $37,203,269 | N/A | N/A |
| Clearpool | Ethereum | $20,436,412 | $422,674,843 | $29,503,706 | $7,512,711 | –24.25% |
| TrueFi | Ethereum | $19,002,202 | $1,740,000,000 | $23,950,000 | $34,966,220 | –6.14% |
| HomeCoin | Ethereum | $6,114,255 | $7,955,966 | $6,309,779 | N/A | N/A |
| Clearpool | Polygon | $65,439 | $80,674,770 | $105,390 | $7,512,711 | –24.25% |
| Maple | Solana | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ondo Finance | Ethereum | N/A | N/A | $28,681,000 | N/A | N/A |
*Newly added to the report
Key Takeaways
- Active loan amounts remain relatively stable despite a decline in cryptocurrency prices. With the exception of Centrifuge and Clearpool on Polygon, all other protocols reported a slight decrease in their active loan amounts.
- Despite a lesser loan issuance amount, total value locked for all of the protocols increased this month.
- The market capitalization of protocol native currencies decreased significantly in the month of August as the broader cryptocurrency market declined.
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